There are many reasons to build green. Up to now, public pressure hasn’t been one of them. But that seems to be changing. The Majestic Star casino is a $450 million project planned for a prominent location on the Pittsburgh riverfront. It came under fire from the Pittsburgh Civic Design Coalition this spring on several fronts, including the fact that it wouldn’t be green. Members of the Design Coalition include Sustainable Pittsburgh and the city's Green Building Alliance. Pittsburgh has had its share of green building luminairies. The city’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center was an early poster child for the LEED green building rating system; it claims to be the largest green building and the first green convention center. And PNC Financial Services Group, headquartered in Pittsburgh, says it has more certified green buildings than any other company. The green pressure has already had an impact on plans for Majestic Star. The casino owner reportedly responded to the initial pressure to make the building LEED certified by saying that he wouldn’t take that step. One reason: LEED certification would require the casino to ban smoking, which the casino planned to allow. But after a meeting with Pittsburgh’s mayor, the owner said that 70 percent of the facility would be smoke free. Just how green the casino is remains to be seen. But Majestic Star is one more indication that facility executives involved in plans for new construction should take a hard look at green issues in the earliest stages of the planning process.